There’s lots of hoopla these days over being “woke”, and jeez-louise is it distressing. Seriously, is this the biggest issue facing America right now? I suppose when a political party is devoid of substantial policies, they’ve got to come up with something, and dividing Americans based on demonizing marginalized groups is always an effective distraction from your own shortcomings. Nevertheless, despite the seemingly insurmountable challenge of defining it, I’m going to take a stab defining “Woke”.
I feel motivated to add my voice to this discussion because I feel personally connected to the word. For the first 25 years of my life, I was asleep. My family never talked politics around the house, as it was deemed impolite. “Two things you should never discuss: Religion and Politics” was the understood rule - understood because to actually say it out loud would be to violate the rule! I understand the sentiment - these are personal beliefs - often strongly held - and broaching these topics runs the risk of offending someone. The problem is, your early belief system is nearly always an adoption of those of your parents, and if you never discuss them, how do you know that they really work for you?
When I was in college, someone asked me, “Are you a Democrat or Republican?” Having never even considered the question before, I briefly paused in thought, and then responded, “Uh, I dunno… Republican, I guess.” My surprised friend asked me why? This was an even more remote question for me. The only answer I could come up with was, “I guess because my parents are, and I trust them.” Funny thing though… my first election in college had me voting for Dukakis. Why? Just had a gut feeling about him. THAT was my rationale behind my vote.
My memory is pretty selective: I have a terrible time recalling the trivial details from even a few days ago, but the important things I remember for a lifetime. This conversation has stuck with me for half my life - I recall exactly who I was talking to, and where we were. It bothered me that I had such a terrible answer. I should be able to back up my votes with solid reasoning. The alarm clock just went off, and my slumber was beginning to shake off.
After college, I ended up dating someone pretty seriously who was an ardent Republican. There were times when she would go off on some political topic, and I found myself dutifully nodding, but nothing she was saying truly resonated with me. Disagreement with my girlfriend on politics is probably not a good sign that things re going to last - and they didn’t. We eventually broke up - not about any singular event, but rather just the accumulation of things on which were disconnected. The alarm clock was starting to enter my consciousness. I was beginning to stir…
Shortly after, I met my future wife. As much as the previous girlfriend was Republican, this one was an equally fervent Democrat. Similarly, she also would, on occasion go off on some political topic - but this time, I was intrigued. The conversation that sticks in my mind grappled with how we were kicking the mentally ill out of hospitals because we couldn’t afford to run them any longer, juxtaposed with giving millionaires tax cuts. It all made no sense. The more she talked, the more I found a new realization dawning on me.
My family was not wealthy, but we were comfortably secure. I had the luxury of being able to go through life without caring about public policy. Raise or lower taxes, cuts to social programs, gun and crime policy, abortion, homophobia, climate… across the board, none of it really affected me. I was privileged to be insulated from challenges that many face on a daily basis. When people decry “White Privilege”, I could have been their poster boy. No, I didn’t get any special treatment, but neither was I held back by having to overcome the challenges that many others face - sometimes just due to the amount of pigment in their skin. In this comfort of luxurious privilege, I slept peacefully. Life was good!
My wife woke me up.
Once awake, I could not go back to sleep. Our public policy and the budget that enables it is a reflection of our national values, and the policies being promoted by Republicans were promoting injustice. Crime-fighting policies caused Black people to be incarcerated at rates far higher than their demographic. Raping the environment for profit while people downstream suffer from poor air and water quality. Disregard for the poor while the wealthy get tax cuts. Discrimination against the LGBT community based on religious beliefs. Who we vote for - it may not have affected me, but it greatly affects OTHERS.
I was a good person before I met my wife. I was kind, considerate, and polite, but she taught me empathy. If you want a definition of being “woke”, it’s really simple:
Having empathy for others less fortunate.
Gasp! How terrible! We can’t promote that!